Federal Judge Stops Obama Administration's Overtime Pay Rule

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant has sided with plaintiffs in the case who complained that the new overtime rules would have caused an uptick in government costs in their states and made it mandatory for businesses to pay millions in additional salaries. Business groups said the new rule changes would have eventually led to layoffs.

Yet did the complaints argue the facts of the law - or simply that it would cost business owners more money, while rightly reimbursing workers for overtime hours?

The measure, set to take effect Dec. 1, was intended to send a jolt to slow-growing U.S. incomes. The Labor Department's wide ranging overhaul to the overtime rule required employers to pay time-and-a-half to their employees who worked more than 40 hours in a given week and earned less than $47,476 a year.

Supporters of the rule called it "long overdue" as inflation took its toll on overtime protection.

A great many professional caregivers may have benefit from the rule, affecting the “manager” or even “part time” status of some which often required working overtime for no additional pay.

Some business groups who were plaintiffs in the case said the new rule changes would have eventually led to layoffs.

"We strongly disagree with the decision by the court, which has the effect of delaying a fair day's pay for a long day's work for millions of hardworking Americans. The department's overtime rule is the result of a comprehensive, inclusive rulemaking process, and we remain confident in the legality of all aspects of the rule. We are currently considering all of our legal options."

Please return to this website in the coming days for updates on this important subject.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant rules to block benefit to millions of workers!

How will the new FLSA laws affect the cost of Assisted Living and Senior Care Homes?

According to the official government website for the act, it will have an impact.

“Hospitals and other institutions “primarily engaged in the care of the sick, the aged, or the mentally ill” are covered employers under the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). Special rules (8 and 80 Overtime System) apply to the payment of overtime to employees of hospitals and residential care establishments, such as nursing facilities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with disabilities.” – United States Department of Labor, DOL website - italics ours

The overtime laws are sometimes referred to by employers and the DOL as - The “Eight and Eighty” (8 and 80) Overtime System. According to the government, many Assisted Living facilities will need to be certain to heed the updated law if they were not in the past, or face penalties.

The reality is many Assisted Living facilities will be paying more overtime to comply with the updated law. Others will try to increase staff working less than full time/overtime to try to keep costs down. Many times this can result in greater turn over of employees, thus another source of increased cost, as it can be expensive to train and integrate a new employee.

In the end, the monthly and yearly cost of Assisted Living and Senior Care Home living may very well go up. How much remains to be seen.

If you are concerned about this for existing seniors, or if you are starting to search for Senior Home living, the best thing you can do is use a source like Senior Home Search to find the homes and facilities operating in your area and to contact them directly to ask for information.

Senior Home Search is one of the leading Senior Home and Assisted Living websites that give you Direct Contact Information – not an “800” number to a sales person. Using this website you can get information such as:

Direct contact Phone Numbers to the homes.

Contact and Information forms that are delivered directly to the home owners.

Email addresses of the homes you see

Detailed information about the home including number of beds, services provided and amenities.

Photos of the home and its rooms

Maps and Directions directly to each home

These are just a few of the reasons why you should be using Senior Home Search to find how the new labor laws will affect the cost of Assisted Living near you.

For Assisted Living and Senior Care Home operators, a good source of information is at the U.S. Department of Labor website. One page provides an FLSA Overtime Calculator Advisor section.

As a professional Caregiver – PAL, you should be aware of what the minimum wage laws are and how they apply to you. This is true whether you work as an independent or as an employee of an agency.

The Federal minimum wage in general is currently $7.25 per hour:

Minimum Wage - Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor. The federal minimum wage provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Many states also have minimum wage laws. - U.S. Department of Labor